Will Lightning Strike Twice for Seattle Seahawks at QB Position ?

I wrote this after the Whitehurst trade but was tired of talking trade, but thought I'd post it now to further clarify any confusion and highlight the similarities.

1. Timing of the trade

Mike Holmgren worked the deal with Green Bay for Matt less than two months prior to the 2001 draft.

Pete Carroll worked the deal with San Diego for Charlie less than two months prior to the 2010 draft.

2. Quality of mentorship

Matt Hasselbeck not only was coached by a quality offensive mind in Mike Holmgren, but was mentored in his short Green Bay tenure by future HOF QB in Brett Favre.

Charlie Whitehurst not only was coached by a quality offensive mind in Norv Turner, but was mentored in his short San Diego tenure by Phillip Rivers.

Furthermore, Norv Turner was the offensive coordinator of the 1992 and 1993 Super Bowl-winning Dallas Cowboys, and Aikman gives Norv the utmost respect in shaping him into the HOF QB that he ultimately became.

Norv has done a nice job with Rivers and could the genie magic rubbed off on Whitehurst?

Matt was selected in the sixth round of the 1998 draft out of Boston College. Matt then spent three seasons behind Favre, throwing a whopping 29 passes and completing 13 of them.

Charlie was selected in the third round of the 2006 draft out of Clemson and threw a whopping zero, zilch, nada, not a single pass behind Rivers in four years. Does 29 attempted passes really give you that much more NFL experience than zero? I like Charlie's bigger arm and has even more mobility than Matt.

The question that will be answered in the upcoming seasons is, does Whitehurst have the mental acumen to read defenses, have pocket awareness/ intangibles and carry QB moxie that Hass has exhibited?

4. Trade details

Both QB’s had two suitors for their services at the time of the trade. Back in March, 2001, the Miami Dolphins had worked out a viable contract for Hasselbeck and were minutes from sending their first-round selection, No. 26 and a swap of second/thirds until Holmgren upped his ante and offered Ron Wolf the Seahawks third-round selection and a swap of the Hawks and Green Bay’s first-rounders.

The Hawks eventually won the bidding war and sent their No. 10 pick and their third-rounder (pick No. 72) in 2001 for Matt and Green Bay’s first or 17th selection in round 1.

Ron Wolf liked the idea of moving up to a top 10 position and still receiving an incremental third vs. the draft prospects that would’ve been available with Miami’s 26th selection.

When Matt heard he was traded, he immediately thought it was to Miami and was surprised and excited to hear he was headed to the great Northwest.

Seattle gave up a third-rounder and moved down 7 slots in round 1 for Hasselbeck back in March 2001.

Seattle gave up a future 2011 third-rounder and moved down 20 slots in round 2 for Whitehurst in March 2010. Very similar.

Charlie also had two suitors in the Arizona Cardinals (who eventually signed Derek Anderson) and the Seahawks.

Since Seattle did not have a third-rounder in 2010 to utilize in the CBA tender for Whitehurst, Seattle had to work a comparable offer for Charlie. This is where our fans are so confused and believe we gave up too much but are incorrect.

The Market price was already set at a 2010 third-round selection by the Chargers and Cardinals agreed. For the Hawks to even get in the negotiating game with Charlie, they first had to get agreed upon compensation to San Diego.

We had zero control because San Diego was not under any obligation to make a trade with us if our compensation was NOT better than Zona’s.

San Diego already knew they could get a 2010 third-rounder in a deep draft from Zona, so we had to beat Zona’s offer just to have the opportunity to woo Charlie with the big bucks.

Are we clear? It should be CRYSTAL! I know it is from my vantage point.

Thus, Pete also had to raise the stakes over Zona to secure Whitehurst from San Diego in 2010 just like Holmgren had to raise the stakes over Miami to secure Hass from the Packers back in 2001.

When you look back at the timing of the trade, the quality of mentorship that each quarterback experienced, their prior NFL experience and all the way down to the trade details of surrendering a third-round selection and moving down draft positions in the hopes that we’d get a Super Bowl-winning QB are quite amazing.

Will lighting strike twice? I hope so and just maybe the glass breaks this time with Whitehurst hoisting a Lombardi. I know Hawk fans have those same dreams.